Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top close first season at Tuscaloosa Amphitheater (photo gallery)

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Johnny Van Zant said he wanted to make Sunday night seem like Saturday night in the last concert of the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater's inaugural season. His band and ZZ Top certainly did their part in that effort with greatest hits sets.

Skynyrd surprisingly led off the co-headlining show, but the crowd was in their seats and ready to take on the three-guitar Southern rock attack led by Gary Rossington and Rickey Medlocke as soon as they broke into "Workin' for MCA" to start the show.

A nearly full amphitheater erupted in response to classics "Simple Man" and "Sweet Home Alabama," and a "Free Bird" chant brought the band out one last time to rip through the epic for the encore.

Fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and noted beard enthusiasts ZZ Top two-stepped their way through a stripped-down set of blues rock that hit its high point with the fast and slide guitar-heavy "Just Got Paid" led by Billy Gibbons.

A set-ending triptych of 80s hits "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man," and "Legs," accompanied by a montage of the band's iconic music videos, drew the biggest response of the evening.

The local alcohol laws reminded the crowd
exactly what day it was. Ushers walked up and down the
aisles asking people to hand over their unfinished drinks at the stroke
of 9:30, when patrons were no longer allowed to consume alcohol in the
venue.

It was an odd ending to a great first run for the amphitheater, for sure, and there probably won't be many Sunday night events. The policy didn't seem to be that big of an issue. Hopefully, people were more interested in the rock show.